AAPL

TSLA

AMZN

META

AMD

NVDA

PEP

COST

ADBE

GOOG

AMGN

HON

INTC

INTU

NFLX

ADP

SBUX

MRNA

Markets

VUG

Looking to Buy the Tech Turnaround? This Low-Cost Vanguard ETF Might Be Your Best Entry Point.

April 25, 2026 — 07:22 pm EDT

Written by

Stefon Walters for

The Motley Fool->

Key Points

- The tech sector accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG).

- VUG includes all the big-name tech heavyweights that a long-term tech investor should want.

- VUG has comfortably outperformed the S&P 500 since its inception.

- 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard Growth ETF ›

There's no doubt that the tech sector had a rough first few months of 2026. Over the first three months, the tech sector was the worst-performing S&P 500 sector by a considerable margin. However, things have reversed course for the better in April.

From April 1 to April 21, tech has been the best-performing S&P 500 sector, up over 15%. The sector's volatility will likely continue (especially as key earnings approach), but if you're looking for a low-cost way to gain exposure to the tech world, the Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: VUG) is a good option.

Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

It covers a lot of ground, and its 0.03% expense ratio is one of the lowest in the stock market.

Image source: Getty Images.

The tech exposure you want without relying too heavily on it

VUG isn't a pure-play tech exchange-traded fund (ETF) that only holds tech companies, but the tech sector accounts for nearly 66% of the fund. That's more than 4 times the representation of the second-most-represented sector, consumer discretionary (16.2%).

The ETF is weighted by market cap, so most of its top holdings are big tech companies, including nine of the top 10 holdings:

- Nvidia: 13.31% of the ETF

- Apple: 12.32%

- Microsoft: 9.09%

- Alphabet (Class A): 5.54%

- Amazon: 4.59%

- Broadcom: 4.40%

- Alphabet (Class C): 4.38%

- Meta Platforms: 4.15%

- Tesla: 3.47%

- Eli Lilly: 2.59%

If you're investing in tech, these are companies that you want in your portfolio. Instead of having to pick a "winner" (especially as it pertains to the current artificial intelligence gold rush), you can bank on big tech as a whole continuing to grow and be dominant.

With just these holdings, you have the largest cloud providers, a large percentage of enterprise software, providers of AI hardware powering the AI boom, digital advertising giants, companies dealing with robotics, and plenty of others.

And whenever the tech sector hits a slump, you have other sectors in the ETF to pick up some of the slack and cushion the blow.

Trust the long-term vision

Since it hit the market in January 2004, VUG has experienced lots of volatility and wild swings. It's the nature of the stock market in general, especially tech and growth stocks, where many investments are based on potential and future earnings.

Still, VUG has comfortably outperformed the S&P 500 in that time, up 886% versus the index's 511%. A lot of the separation has come in the past five years, with the surge in big tech valuations. However, VUG's outperformance has been consistent, with better annual returns in 17 of 22 full years.

When you invest in VUG, you should expect high volatility, especially given how much control the tech sector alone has over it. Your job is to expect it, continue investing, and trust that it delivers good long-term returns. So far, it hasn't disappointed from that standpoint.

Should you buy stock in Vanguard Growth ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard Growth ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Growth ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $498,522!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,276,807!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 983% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 200% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 25, 2026.

Stefon Walters has positions in Apple and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recomme